Greek pellos - dark coloured; referring to the black stipes or stems of the fronds.

Rhizome short-creeping to erect; scales brownish to purple, papery. Sterile and fertile fronds mostly similar. Fronds divided 2-4 times. Blade generally powdery waxy white, yellow or orange below, or densely hairy; veins free. Sori arranged along the veins in short, sometimes branched, lines; indusia absent.

16 species from tropical America and Africa.

Division or spores.

Scurfy or coloured lower frond surface.

Source: Spencer, R. (1995). Adiantaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 1, Ferns, conifers & their allies. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.